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Fluorocarbon tippet...what are you using these days

I have started to use fluoro more the last couple of years. Especially late spring in the Poconos when the water is low and the fish have wised up a bit. Curious to see what you all are using and whether or not using fluoro you tend to go up in tippet. Late spring Im still fishing ISOs so 6x tippet can be a pain

Re: Fluorocarbon tippet...what are you using these days

I started using Orvis Mirage this year. I am done with Rio when I run out of it. I wont be buying it anymore. I know a lot of guys swear by it but I don’t like it. I also went with FIN-ITE suggestion on tippet rings. I love the Mirage it is stronger with a smaller diameter then Mono. The only thing I have found to be an issue with the tippet rings is, like an indicator I have had a few fish hit the tippet ring. Other then that I like them.

"Hatchery fish have the same colors, but they always seem muted like bad reproductions of great art." Bill Barich

Re: Fluorocarbon tippet...what are you using these days

I us Fenwick double tapered lines on all my rods except a Fenwick sinking line for shad. I have always used Maxima leader from 12 lb down to 4 lb. I tie my own tapered leaders for trout starting with 2 feet of 8 lb and 2 feet of 6 lb and finishing with 3 to 4 feet of 4 lb depending on what lenght of rod I am using. I tried other brands of leader material but always go back to Maxima. I find it is easy to tie and I it is strong and is more forgiving when rubbing over rocks. With our water here being tea colored Maxima is just about invisible in the water.

Re: Fluorocarbon tippet...what are you using these days

I used to be a big fluro guy. The last few years I switched back to regular tippet and have found no really difference in my catch rate. I actually prefer regular because it is stiff and allows a better drag free drift. Also remember the rule of three. Divide the size fly your using by three then round to the nearest tippet size example size 14 fly divided by three is 4 then round up 5x

Re: Fluorocarbon tippet...what are you using these days

I use RIO......never tried anything else...probably won't, unless the fly shop stops carrying RIO.....I think we as fly fisherman overthink things to get an advantage over a fish with an IQ of 4.......keep it simple stupid is my motto...if it doesn't work, oh well, there is always another day to flail on the water.....when it all comes together, all the better.....

Re: Fluorocarbon tippet...what are you using these days

Stealth has given way to strength for me as the main consideration in recent years. In some conditions (glassy slow pools where it's near impossible to catch wild trout anyway), fluoro might be better I suppose. Although a more flexible tippet might give you more micro-drag, which is one of the biggest problems I have in these conditions.

But in all the other kinds of water I fish (stained, broken, fast), the possibility of not catching fish is way more tolerable than the big fish breaking off, which happens to me way too often.

I've just gotten tired of it - makes me feel like shit also for leaving a fly in a fish's mouth, and even if I bring the trout to hand, a stronger tippet allows for a quicker fight that gets the fish back in the water quicker.

So, I've been fishing Orvis super strong, which is a nylon tippet, and have been stretching Trico Mike's rule of thumb, trying to stay away from 6x-8x tippet in favor of 5x or 4.5x for dries and nymphs.

Re: Fluorocarbon tippet...what are you using these days

It is never fish count for me why I changed. I like the stiffer consistency of FC. Especial while Nymphing . I get hung up on the bottom a lot. There are those days particularly when the wind is blowing. The fly stops for a second. I think its a strike. I go to set the hook. The fly is hung up on the bottom. A few jerks of the rod to free the fly. Then fly shoots back at the rod. The tippet gets wrapped and knotted around the rod 8 million times. (Yes I have counted it) the result is I end up cutting every thing off and redoing half the leader. With the FC I have not had that problem because it is a little stiffer then the mono.

"Hatchery fish have the same colors, but they always seem muted like bad reproductions of great art." Bill Barich

Re: Fluorocarbon tippet...what are you using these days

It's the stiffness of floro that has me going that route also. Like Tom said tippet ruining tangles are far fewer with floro and it's much easier to work with. Fishing multiple flies on droppers with mono would be a nightmare.

Re: Fluorocarbon tippet...what are you using these days

I use fluoro only when I nymph, nylon when I fish drys, all Rio. I try not to go less than 5x when dry fly fishing unless I'm fishing some mountain stream with smaller fish. I think 9 times out of 10 you can take a fish on a heavier leader with a good drag-free drift. I once watched a guy on the mainstem catch a rising bow with on a size 12 Iso using a spey rod and 15lb Maxima, because he didn't have a anything lighter. Across and down got that fish.

Re: Fluorocarbon tippet...what are you using these days

Originally Posted by Trout Nazi

I use fluoro only when I nymph, nylon when I fish drys, all Rio. I try not to go less than 5x when dry fly fishing unless I'm fishing some mountain stream with smaller fish. I think 9 times out of 10 you can take a fish on a heavier leader with a good drag-free drift.

That's the exact same for me. I never fish floro for dries, but almost only when I nymph, at least between my point and dropper flies. Too many guys fall into the trap that you need 6X or finer tippet to catch trout when 4X or 5X will do just fine. Focus more on presentation and worry less about your tippet is my mantra.